Naruto: A Step Back
by LeapingWithFate
Summary: Time-travel, Sometimes it is important to take a step back. For Naruto it is the only thing that might be able to save his world. How different will things be when Naruto has someone to help him from the beginning? Kyuubi/Naruto yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

Naruto: A Step Back

Prologue: A Final Request

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Beta'ed by: (No one taking request)

* * *

The Fourth Shinobi War had finally come to a close and sadly the victor was Obito Uchiha. The man had proved that he had the better plan and it showed. The turning point was during the fight between Naruto and Sasuke when the raven had claimed to see the error of his ways due to Itachi. As Naruto wanted nothing more then to trust his old friend, he never saw the sword coming at his back. Of course that isn't where the battle ended as Naruto couldn't have the Kyuubi extracted until Killer Bee had the Hachibi extracted from him. With this being the case Naruto was simply captured along with Bee.

It had taken three days in order to rip the Hachibi out of his host and during that time Kiba Inuzuka had been captured trying to rescue his friend. The canine-like teen was the only one able to track Naruto before his trail went cold and foolishly tried to take on Obito and Sasuke alone. Both of the Uchiha laughed though as they threw him in a cell with the blonde claiming that soon, whatever he thought now, would no longer matter.

As they prepared for the final confrontation the blonde was approached my Obito. "Well idiot soon you will die and I will complete my plan. You may want to say good-bye to your friend though. We will let him try and make it back to Konoha before the world falls under my control. Not that making it will do him any good."

As the Uchiha walked away he failed to notice the smirk that had appeared on the blonde's face. "The arrogance of the Uchiha has no limits. Kiba I need a favor from you. When they let you go run to Konoha and go to my apartment. I realized as the war started that the best way to save this world was to take a step back." At this point the brunette went to speak, but was interrupted by the blonde. "I don't want to hear you argue. If you don't do this then they will win."

At this point the blonde stepped forward and pressed his lips against Kiba's. "Naruto, why?"

The blonde moved back afterwards. "It is complicated, but you will understand soon, but you need to trust me and get to my apartment. I know you can make things better." At this point the blonde mentally added. '_Something I know I wouldn't be able to do alone._'

The brunette tried to take a step towards the blonde when he remembered something. It was about a week before Naruto left to master the Kyuubi's chakra and the boys had gone out drinking when the woke up the next morning they had passed out in Naruto's bed after stripping. They hadn't done anything, but Kiba had thought more about Naruto since that day. It was only during his imprisonment that he remembered the blonde's ability to purge his body of poisons making it impossible for the whiskered-teen to get drunk. '_Naruto what really happened that night, did you want me to spend the night or was it because I was drunk, and what did that kiss mean to you? Damn-it why can't we have more time?_'

* * *

It had been four days and true to their word the two Uchiha's had let Kiba go. The brunette had seemed like he wanted to continue fighting, but for some reason left instead. As Naruto floated in the air, red chakra seeping out of his mouth and eyes into a statue the blonde was thinking. '_If my calculations are correct then in five minutes the Uchiha will be in for a surprise. Still if the Kiba hasn't made it by then, they will be able to teleport to Konoha. I am not sure if I will be able to stall them, but it seems like the only option. They have been up for a week straight and for myself it has only been four days. We will all be low on chakra, but the extraction is taking it's toll on my body. I am also out numbered two to one. Kiba please just hurry._'

(**With Kiba**)

Inuzuka Kiba may not have been a stamina freak, but let it be known that he would stop at nothing to fulfill the last request of his best friend, Uzumaki Naruto. Of course after running for four days non-stop the brunette was nearing exhaustion. Still as the gates of Konoha came into view he knew that it was not time to stop.

As Kiba entered the village and ran towards the blonde's apartment he couldn't help himself. His mind once again flashed back to the kiss that the blonde had gave him when he was told to just leave. '_Why did he have to do that? It was hard enough to lose him as it was, but I have no idea why he kissed me. Does he like me, or was there some hidden agenda behind it? He just has to do some of the stupidest things. Damn-it does that idiot know I care about him? Could that have been what it was about? Whatever trick you have up your sleeve better be worth it Naruto._'

(**Back With Naruto**)

As the red chakra finally stopped seeping out of the blonde he fell to his knees and as the two Uchiha smirked the whiskered teen had to fight down a smile. '_My body is in better shape then I imagined, but at the same time my chakra is lower. No matter I trust Kiba will make it in time. Just in case though I better put on a show, to buy as much time as possible._'

As the blonde stood the Uchiha turned to him, one of them in shock and the other with a sneer. "How are you still alive loser the extraction was supposed to kill you?"

Obito shook his head at the question his younger relative asked. "I told you once Sasuke the Uzumaki had an incredible will and a rather special physical energy. Most lived very long lives and the regenerative ability they had could be seen as a bloodline. Him standing is of no consequence though. We already have what we need from him and his body will give out soon enough."

At this point the blonde couldn't help but smile. "You have what you need from me, really? Because even if you drew the Kyuubi's chakra out, you need his soul for your plan to work, and during my training to master his chakra I was forced to separate the two. The only way that technique works is by bringing the soul out through the demon's chakra. As such the soul of the Kyuubi is still inside me and you don't have a method to bring it out you bastards."

Obito went wide-eyed at the blonde's statement before the ninth eye of the Gedo Mazo closed again before an explosion of chakra rang throughout the room. The explosion knocked Naruto off his feet and when the blonde stood he realized something. The force of the explosion knocked Sasuke out. '_That will make this a hell of a lot easier._' "Hey Obito-teme it is time for you to get your ass kicked."

(**With Kiba**)

The Inuzuka had not had a good time since arriving back in Konoha, but he had managed to make it to the blonde's apartment and opened the door, when he did though a spiraling vortex of chakra formed and the dog loving teen was sucked inside of it before it closed.

(**With Naruto**)

The blonde coughed up blood as he fell to his knees in front of Obito. As he awaited the final attack, one that would knock him unconscious not doubt, something happened though. His body started to fade in a dark light, along with everything and everyone else in the elemental nations. '_Looks like Kiba made it and the game has been reset. So sorry Obito but next time we meet you are in for a nasty shock._'

With that thought complete the entire world simply faded.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Kyuubi's Deal

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

As Naruto tried to open his eyes he saw moments in time, memories belonging to him that he had never seen before. The sheer volume of them caused his head to feel like it was ripping apart, and he vaguely noticed the stone walls around him cracking under some form of pressure. As the pain got more intense, the walls started breaking apart. As the blonde let out a pained scream, the entire structure he was in shook.

At this point he saw memories that involved a form of lightning being shoved through his chest, causing his chest to burn as a scar started forming on it. Tears were leaking from his eyes, and his head felt like it was on fire, at this point everything stopped and went black. The last thing he remembered seeing was glowing red eyes. This happened time and time again over the next few days. The boy would wake up, get assaulted with memories until he passed out.

After a while the memories changed, and while it was difficult to call upon them while his mind was being forced to endure more, he realized that they were being burned into his brain. He wasn't sure how long it went on, but eventually it stopped.

(Later)

Naruto sat up and rolled his shoulders as he woke up before rubbing his head. Looking around he recognized his mindscape and started walking a path he had walked many times before. When he got to a giant cage he noticed it was wide open and in front of it was a rather attractive man. The man had tan skin, red hair, and crimson eyes. He was wearing a dark kimono and was leaning into one of the bars, a look of concern on his face. "Kyuubi, what happened? My head feels like it is on fire."

The man looked Naruto over before moving forward. "**I did warn you that taking the path we decided on would be painful for you. Your eight year-old self just absorbed roughly nine years of memories in a matter of days. In order to keep you out of the hospital I had to shut your brain down every few hours to keep it from over-heating or worse.**"

The blonde remembered the discussion clearly. "So it worked?"

The demon nodded. "**Kiba successfully activated the seal, and my soul was sent back. Afterwards I simply had to overpower my former self before giving you your memories back.**"

Naruto looked down a little at the mention of Kiba. He didn't want to lead his friend on, but to transfer the Kyuubi's soul into his body he had required intimate contact. "What about the other part of the plan?"

The demon smirked at that. It was of course an amendment that he had added to their little deal. He had helped Naruto develop the technique to turn back time and he would train the boy. To do that though he would require being released. The blonde of course would have refused if it would have killed him, and that wouldn't do for the Kyuubi anyway.

Of course what the demon was after was the blonde himself, and that meant keeping Naruto alive. As such the demon had a plan. "**The moment your body recovers, from the amount of mental stress you have endured, I will be doing it. Your body will have to be in peak condition or you might not be able to survive the ritual,**" '_**and that won't do for me.**_' Kyuubi said, before ending the sentence inside his head.

Naruto nodded his head. He would need a supply of demonic chakra to survive and Kyuubi said that the only way it would truly work is if he turned the blonde into a half-demon. Naruto had at first asked if the Kyuubi could just force some chakra into the seal every once in a while, but the demon said that it would be impractical. "How long until I recover? I want to start training as quickly as possible."

The demon closed his eyes in thought for a moment. "**Shouldn't take more than a week, but there is something else that you will need to get used to. My name is Kurama, and I plan on using it around Konoha. Calling me Kyuubi in front of others will be bad.**"

The blonde nodded his head. "Alright Kyuu- Kurama. That will take some getting used to. I thought you wouldn't tell your real name to anyone you didn't trust though. Why use it around Konoha?"

The demon examined the boy for a moment before speaking. "**I am not going to hide who I am, but at the same time I am not in the mood to crush this village for attacking me. As such I will be using my true name.**"

After a week, in which Naruto didn't really move from his apartment, the blonde was pulled back into his mindscape. He had noticed that in his mindscape he was getting younger over the last week, and losing the scars he had gained in his "**It is time, head to the Namikaze Compound, we will do the ritual there. The seals your father set up should keep us from being detected. Remember though, after the ritual your body will shot down in order to transform, as such you will be unconscious for a few more days. I would go see your Hokage first.**"

Naruto nodded and headed towards the Hokage tower. It had taken him a week to get used to be small again, his brain trying to send signals for a seventeen year-old's body. As he got to the tower, he smiled at the Hokage's secretary. "Is Jiji busy?"

The woman smiled at Naruto. She had been Minato's secretary as well, and had even helped the Sandaime raise the boy until he turned two and was put in the orphanage. "He is in a meeting, but it should only take a few more minutes."

Naruto nodded and moved off to the side and waited. After a few minutes the elders came from the office and the Sandaime smiled at him. The blonde felt a tightness in his chest at that moment. He hadn't really thought about how he would feel about seeing those that died once again. "Jiji!"

Naruto moved to hug the old man like he would have at that time. "I haven't seen you in a while Naruto-kun. How have you been?"

The blonde scratched the back of his head. "I have been training for the academy. You said I could enter this year."

The Sandaime nodded at that. "Yes you can enter in two weeks with the rest of the people your age."

The blonde smiled. "Well I should get back to my training then. I just wanted to come see what day I was joining." The Hokage nodded as the blonde ran off.

An hour later he was inside the basement in the Namikaze compound, and symbols spread away from him as the Kyuubi appeared next to him in his human form. "**I will keep you unconscious until the ritual is finished and your body has changed. It will be an incredibly painful process after all.**" With that said, Naruto's world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2: Changes

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

Naruto woke up early the next morning and had to grind his teeth to keep the scream that tried to tear from his lips inside. Every single muscle, every nerve, and every other part of his body was burning. A few moments later he opened his eyes when a cooling feeling was rushing through his body. Kyuubi was in front of him, in the form of a fox that was a tall as the eight year old Naruto. Two of the nine fox tails were wrapped around Naruto while they glowed. "**You realize that you still look human don't you.**"

Naruto noticed it, but Kurama was right. "Why am I still like this?" He asked.

Kurama pulled his tails back and Naruto smiled since he wasn't in pain anymore. "**You woke up in pain because your instincts were screaming to transform while your mind was telling you to stay in this form. After a while you will be able to change from your human form, half-demon form, and animal form.**"

Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "So am I a fox like you?"

Kyuubi nodded his head. "**I know that it is. If you want to see what you look like, and how many tails you have, then all you need to do is think about shifting forms.**"

Naruto was a little nervous at first, but fought through it. He wanted to become a fox around the size of Kurama. As his body was enveloped in a light golden light he could feel all his entire body shifting. It was a little painful, but not as much as when he woke up. When the light faded down Naruto looked like a fox with six tails. He was as tall as Kurama was but a little thinner, and where as a Kurama had red fur, Naruto's was golden.

After he transformed Naruto tried to move around, something that took him ten minutes to do properly. Afterwards he found that he rather enjoyed being in this form. Ten minutes later Kurama moved up to the blonde and nuzzled him, stopping the blonde. "**What is it Kurama?**"

The darker furred demon started glowing red before he took the form of an eight year-old boy. He had blood red hair and eyes although his eyes lacked the slit that Naruto had gotten accustomed to. He was wearing some black kimono that had materialized. "We need to go talk to the Hokage if I am going to join you in the Academy."

Naruto's eyes went wide as he transformed back to normal. "You want to join the Academy with me?"

Kurama smirked. "Unless you want to spend all your time with someone who seems to be twelve years older then you, and have to sit through the boring classes alone again."

Naruto shook his head as he grabbed Kurama's hand and dragged him to the Hokage's office. When they got there the Sandaime was just getting in. Seeing his favorite visitor the old man smiled, at least until he noticed the other boy that Naruto was dragging. "Who is this young lad Naruto-kun?"

Naruto smiled brightly, a smile that the Sandaime rarely saw as it wasn't faked like half of the boy's smile. "This Kurama, he wants to join the academy with me!" The good thing about Naruto's attitude not changing a whole lot over his life was that it was harder for the Sandaime to notice that something had changed in the blonde's actions and reactions.

The Sandaime looked Kurama over for a moment. "So you want to be a Konoha ninja Kurama?"

Kurama looked at the Sandaime. "That is correct Hokage-sama. I want to join the Academy with Naruto-kun, I also have the proper ninja tools already and some preliminary training."

The Sandiame listened to the red-head and nodded. "Well I don't see a problem with it if you don't mind answering some questions for me first." At Kurama's nod the Sandaime motioned for them to come into his office. "Well the first question I have is about how long have you been in Konoha?"

Kurama closed his eyes and then they opened and he looked right into the Sandaime's eyes. "I came in a few days ago. I passed a Konoha ninja doing a handsign on the middle of the road."

The Hokage nodded, that would explain why the boy wasn't picked up by the barrier team, he passed a ninja going through it. "Why did you come to Konoha?"

Kurama kept looking at the Sandaime's eyes. "I am an orphan. I lived in a town near the border. My grandfather told my mother stories of the Shodaime, and she told me. When my father and her were killed by bandits I decided that I wanted to become a ninja like the Shodaime."

The Sandaime nodded again. It sounded true enough, Kurama's breath hitched a little when he mentioned his parents. "Last question, where have you been staying?"

Kurama scratched the back of his head. "I have been sleeping on Naruto's couch. I bumped into him when I first got to the village and asked if he could show me around. When he found out I didn't have a place to stay yet he offered and I agreed."

The Sandaime took out a form that he filled out. "I assume that you will be staying with Naruto. This form will need to be taken to the Academy when you join although we will need to have a longer talk."

Kurama nodded knowing that the Sandaime would need to make sure that he wasn't a spy. When the Sandaime finished the form he handed it to Kurama and the red-head stood. "Thank you Hokage-sama."

Naruto and Kurama left after that to go get something to eat. Kurama moved alongside Naruto to Ichiraku's. Kurama knew that the blonde hadn't got to eat there since Pain's attack on Konoha. After they ate, the two went back to the Namikaze Compound. When they got there Kurama sat down on the couch and motioned for Naruto to sit as well. "We need to set up a training schedule for you. Not only is your chakra pools bigger then when you were this age, but you also will need to train your body again. Considering the changes that you have gone through you will have to train to even do the simplest jutsu again."

Naruto closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "That isn't fair." He whined.

Kurama shook his head. "Well that is how things have to be. We still have two roughly two weeks until the class starts and this time around things will be different. Some habits that the old pervert should have broken you from will need to be dealt with. For example if you still insist on wearing orange we will be finding you a darker shade. If you can hide from people in your old eyesore, then you will be invisible in more suitable garments. Any change that is made will be for the better, so that when the time comes you can defeat Obito."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3: The First Year

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

Naruto yawned as he climbed out of bed. Today would be his first day back to the Academy. He wasn't looking forward to the classes, but he couldn't wait to see his friends again. He understood that he would have to befriend them all over again, but he wasn't too worried about it. Getting up Naruto threw on a dark orange shirt and black ANBU pants. Moving towards the living room he saw Kurama waiting for him. The demon was wearing a dark red battle kimono and a black undershirt. Naruto looked him over before shaking his head, almost everywhere the red-head went he was asked if his father was some lord.

Naruto wondered how the girls in the Academy would react to the demon, he figured it would be similar to how they acted towards Sasuke. That was what Naruto was dreading the most about today. He would never admit it, but the thought of other people being around Kurama sent rage coursing through his veins. In fact he had almost snapped at Ayame for saying Kurama was cute.

He knew that Kurama knew why, and simply wasn't telling him. The smirk on the demon's face proved it. Shaking his head Naruto focused on what else the day would hold. Last time around the first day was when everyone was put into their classes, and given an introduction of what they would be studying. Kyuubi and Naruto both intended to send shadow clones to the academy on days where there would be no sparring. Sparring would be held on Monday and Thursday if the schedule didn't change.

Kurama was staring at Naruto as he came out of his room. He was smirking at the blonde and could tell what was on the boy's mind. He could of course explain why the blonde almost snapped at Ayame, but where was the fun in that. He wanted the blonde to drive himself crazy and then beg for the answer before he would tell him what caused his anger. The half-demon's expression would be priceless to Kurama when Naruto learned that he was attracted to the Bijuu.

Moving towards the door both of them slipped on a pair of black ninja sandals before heading out. It didn't take to long for them to get to the academy, and when they did they had to hand their filled out forms to the headmaster who would put them in one of two classes. After they gave the old man their forms they had to sit outside until they were divided up, which would most likely be another hour.

Moving over to what would most likely become his swing once again Naruto sat down. Kurama followed the blonde before jumping onto the branch that the swing was tied to. They could both hear the parents whispering to each other. "_Isn't he **that** boy?_" One woman asked.

A male chimed in. "_He is, I don't know if my daughter should enter the academy with **it.**_"

A second woman chimed in. "_Shhhh, you know we can't talk about that._"

Naruto had almost forgotten how bad the whispers and stares were. He was about to say or do something when Kurama let one of his ninja sandals fall off his foot and hit the blonde on his head. A few people in the crowd laughed a little at that, and Naruto himself smiled. He knew that the redhead was with him this time around. Picking up the sandal Naruto tossed it upward for Kurama to grab.

Seeing the smile on his face made a few of the whispering parents reconsider what they thought about the boy. After all none of these people had ever met him before. The next hour was spent with the kids breaking off into small groups and talking with each other. Finally the parents were dismissed and the names were called. The first class didn't really interest Naruto, but he did hear Ami's name called and remembered that she had been in his class last time around. The second class had the rest of the kids who failed the real genin test from his class as well as Kurama and the rookie nine.

When Iruka called for Naruto's class to follow them, he lead them inside. They went to the same classroom that Naruto had been in before where Mizuki was waiting. Naruto would have attacked the silver-haired man if it wasn't for Kurama's hand on his shoulder. Going to the back Naruto and Kurama sat beside each other when the raven-haired boy sat next to them. Instantly a few civilian girls came over to ask if the blonde and redhead would move, but were told no.

Sasuke for his part was happy to get away from the annoying girls. When everyone was seated he smiled. "_Thank goodness they are gone._"

Hearing Sasuke whisper made Naruto chuckle. The blonde was happy that none of those girls were around too. He knew that it was only a matter of time before some of them turned their attention to Kurama. Iruka spent the rest of the day in a long boring rant about the academy that Naruto only paid a little attention to. At the end of the day he laid out the schedule for the rest of that year.

Monday and Thursday they would spar and practice their basic ranged weaponry. Tuesday and Wednesday would be spent going over different theories. Friday would be spent going over history of the different nations and villages.

Naruto and Kurama was about to head home when they saw Sasuke practicing his shuriken on the logs. Naruto remembered that after the first week of the academy, the Uchiha Massacre happened. Looking to Kurama the older demon shrugged his shoulders. The redhead knew the blonde wanted to help Sasuke, but he believed that Naruto should find his own answers.

Naruto moved over to Sasuke with a smile on his face. "It is Sasuke right? Mind if I train with you?"

Hearing someone call him by his name and Uchiha-sama got Sasuke's attention. He nodded and smiled as well. Naruto pulled out one of the shuriken he had brought form the Namikaze Compound. His father stored everything in that house inside of seals, the food included, so that it was all brand new when used. Throwing the shuriken Naruto missed the bulls-eye by a couple inches, but he noticed that the shuriken went halfway into the tree. Sasuke was shocked at how deep it went and turned to face the blonde.

Naruto for his part looked a little sheepish. "Guess I threw it harder then I meant to." After training together for a few hours the two boys were ready to go home. When they went to leave though Sasuke spoke up. "So Naruto, do you want to come over to my house and hang out?"

Naruto agreed with a smile. "That sounds great, just let me tell Kurama-" Naruto stopped his sentence when he saw that Kurama was already gone. "He left me. That jerk!"

Hearing the blonde call that out made Sasuke laugh a little. "So are you and Kurama related? You don't really look alike."

Naruto shook his head. "Nope, we are both orphans. My parents died when I was born and Kurama lost his to a bandit attack. We just look out for each other."

Sasuke lowered his head. "I am sorry about bringing that up."

Naruto waved the boy off. "Don't worry about it. I never knew my parents, so I can't really miss them all that much. Kurama is super tough too. He said that while his parents are gone he knows what path they would have wanted him to follow. So no matter what he will walk that path."

Sasuke was almost in awe at that. '_They both seem so strong even though they are all alone._'

When they got to the Uchiha compound Naruto was amazed by how many people there was. What shocked him though was that no one glared at him. When they got to the clan head's home Sasuke opened the door. "Tou-san, Kaa-san I'm home. I brought someone over for dinner if that is okay."

Mikoto Uchiha came out of the kitchen with a smile, at least until she spotted Naruto. The look she gave him was one that Naruto had seen a few times during the war. It was a mix of sadness and happiness. Naruto realized in a instant that Mikoto must have knew one of his parents. Smiling brightly he waved. "Hello Uchiha-sama my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke invited me over, I hope that is okay."

Mikoto nodded her head. "That is fine Naruto-kun, and feel free to call me Mikoto. Now you two boys go wash up, dinner is almost ready."

The two nodded and Sasuke showed Naruto where to wash his hands. As they were going back to the kitchen they heard voices coming from a vent that Sasuke knew lead down to the dining room. "I can't believe that Kushina-chan's son befriended Sasuke on the first day of the academy." Mikoto told her husband.

Fugaku let out a small chuckle. "I wonder if he has his mother's temper. On her first day I called Kushina a tomato and she broke my nose."

Mikoto nodded. "I think the only boy in our class that didn't make fun of her was Naruto's father. Minato just stared at her in awe and she called him girly."

Naruto listened in shocked at that, while Sasuke was confused on why the boy had froze. Shaking it off Sasuke pulled the boy to the dining room. His parents had already stopped talking about Naruto's parents though. Fugaku introduced himself and asked for the blonde's name. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, Fugaku-sama."

The man nodded and focused on a mission report that was in his hand. Sasuke kind of expected that, but it confused Naruto. "Ummm Fugako-sama?" Getting a questioning hmm from the man Naruto continued his thought. "Well, Ayame-nee-chan says that it is rude to read at the table when you are with others." Naruto made sure to say it in his most innocent voice.

Fugako raised an eye-brow before looking to his wife who took the scroll from him. "Naruto-kun is right." She said as she put the scroll away. "I am sure it can wait until after dinner. " She said as she started serving food. It took every ounce of will power Naruto had to eat normally. Half-way through the dinner Sasuke asked a question that made his parent choke. "Who were Minato and Kushina?"

Mikoto was the first to respond. "Where did you hear those names Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke was a little surprised by their reaction. "We heard you two talking about them, and you said they were Naruto's parents."

Naruto was looking down at this, not sure what to say. He knew who they were, but also knew it was supposed to be a secret. Fugako shook his head. "I told you we needed to seal that vent up."

Mikoto sighed as she looked down at her food. "Just finish eating Sasuke-kun, someone else needs to be here for this talk."

When they were done eating Mikoto and Fugako had the boys get ready to leave. "Where are we going Kaa-chan?"

When Mikoto told them the Hokage's office Naruto jumped in the air. "Woohoo we are going to see Jiji!"

Sasuke was shocked that Naruto would call the Hokage by such a disrespectful title, and his mother voiced those thoughts. "Naruto, you can't talk about the Hokage like that!"

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "Why not, Jiji doesn't mind. I have called him that for as long as I can remember."

The three Uchiha were shocked to hear that, but shook it off for now. Instead they focused on getting to the Hokage's office. When they got there and the secretary saw Naruto she let them go in.

When Hiruzen saw Naruto he let out a small sigh. "Did young Naruto play a prank on the Uchiha?" He asked dreading the answer.

Mikoto shook her head. "No, but we have a small problem Hokage-sama. These two young boys may have overheard Fugako and I reminiscing about Minato and Kushina. Seeing Naruto just made us remember our times in the academy. We also may have mentioned they were Naruto's parents."

The Sandaime was wide-eyed at the end of her sentence. "Naruto-kun we will talk about this in the morning, go ahead and head home. Sasuke your parents will talk to you tonight, so you can head out as well."

The young boys nodded and left, Naruto wasn't in a rush to learn something he already knew, and Sasuke figured that he could wait until tomorrow since it wasn't about him.

Once the two left the Hokage spent the next twenty minutes going over the details of what happened. When that was over the old man sighed and looked to Fugako. "Have you given any thought to the scroll Danzo left you?" The man asked as he activated a privacy seal.

The man raised an eyebrow at that. "I have no clue what you are talking about."

The Sandaime let out a sigh. "There is no need for games Fugako. I know what your clan is planning, and I know the reason behind. Danzo delivered you a scroll that agreed to increase the percentage of money that your clan got from missions as well as allowing a civilian Uchiha a spot on the civilian council to increase the Uchiha Clan's control in the village."

Fugako was shocked. "Hokage-sama I have no idea what scroll you are talking about. As for what my clan is planning I have been trying to soothe them over, but if they decide to attack I can't just watch them fight and die while I do nothing."

Mikoto was shocked by the turn in the conversation. "Well if we tell them the deal the Hokage is offering, maybe they will understand that it isn't needed."

Fugako shook his head. "What do you think this is about Hokage-sama? It isn't just about the Uchiha feeling powerless in the village. Ever since Minato died the civilians have gained more and more power in the village. My clan no longer sees you as a fit Hokage."

Hiruzen looked at the man. "I see." The old man could hear the logic behind the man's statement. "So this isn't about how the Uchiha are feeling on their treatment. This is about making sure the right leader is in charge of the village your clan helped found." Fugako and Hiruzen locked eyes at that moment and the Uchiha Head could see the will burning in the Old Man's eyes once again. "I have been making a lot of mistakes in the recent years. Well then it seems there is a solution to the problem at hand. Fugako I want you to become one of my advisors, my old teammates are in bed with Danzo anyway. Shikaku can take the other position as well and we will be taking the village back, starting with the Academy." Fugako nodded his head, a confident smirk forming on his face.

The next day Naruto found himself walking to the Hokage's office. Kurama was at one of the training fields in case the old man took Naruto to the Namikaze Compound. When Naruto got there the Hiruzen was having Shadow Clones go through his paper work. It was a tip that Fugako told him about the night before, something that apparently Minato did.

The real Sandaime had Naruto sit on the couch next to him. "We need to talk about what you heard last night."

Naruto took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. "Is it true?"

The Sandaime looked at the boy. He knew that Naruto wanted to know who his parents were, but it needed to stay a secret. Still denying it at this point would most likely be a mistake. "Listen Naruto you need to understand something. The reason I kept this hidden from you was to keep you safe. There are people who would hold your linage against you and I wanted to protect you from that."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "So can you tell me about my parents."

The Sandaime spent the next hour telling Naruto about his parents. Naruto was teary eyed by the time he left, but agreed to keep his linage a secret. Afterwards he headed to the training ground that Kurama had went to. When he got there the redhead looked him over. "Alright so listen up. We have to retrain you in just about everything. Every single jutsu, taijutsu style, chakra control exercise, your strength and speed, and your chakra natures. All of it needs to be retrained. For the next year we will work on your physical conditioning and chakra control."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 3: End of the Academy

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N:

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Naruto rubbed his eyes and stretched. It had been four years since he had joined the Academy with Kurama and during that time a lot of the curriculum had changed. During their time there both Kurama and Sasuke were tied at the top of the class while Naruto was barely passing. Knowing that the rookie of the year is paired with the dead-last Naruto decided to tank his grades in order to be placed with Kurama who stated that he wouldn't settle for anything less then perfect marks.

During the first year Naruto had trained every single day and worked more on speed then strength. His control would never be perfect, but he had mastered the tree climbing and water walking exercises with leaves stuck to his body. Kurama was stronger then the blonde and somehow had better control. Of course the older demon would, he had been practicing for Kami only knows how long.

The second year was spent going over the theory behind ninjutsu and genjutsu. As a fox demon Naruto would be able to cast illusions something that he never had a talent for in the past. Then the third year Naruto retrained his wind affinity and his lightning affinity. Unlike most lightning jutsu that came out blue, Naruto's were yellow due to his chakra being that color. The last year the blonde trained in a few jutsu and made sure to learn a taijutsu stance that would incorporate his claws when he unleashed them, while still doing damage without them. Now that he was going to get a sensei though, he could train in all sorts of things without it seeming suspicious.

Naruto walked out of his room as he finished thinking about the past four years to see Kurama was waiting on the couch. That was something that irritated the blonde, it seemed that no matter how early he got up Kurama was always waiting on him. What the blonde didn't know was that as a demon there were several things that had changed within his body. An example would be that he only really needed an hour of sleep a night instead of the six that Naruto normally slept. His body could also get its required nutrients from the nature chakra that existed in the world around them.

Naruto smiled slightly as he realized that today was Tuesday. Tuesday was the only day that they didn't have physical activity at the Academy with the changes. Of course on the plus side the Uchiha Massacre was somehow prevented. Sasuke had become close friends with Naruto and Kurama, although Kurama wasn't too fond of the Uchiha. Naruto was happy enough though, Sasuke taking the third seat in their section kept the fan-girls away. Naruto had learned to control his anger when others came onto the redhead, although the one girl that had touched him would have been torn to shreds if Kurama hadn't stopped the blonde.

Still the blonde couldn't wait to graduate next week. "So Kurama what is the plan for the day?"

The redhead looked at him with his brow raised. "I am sleeping. I don't really care what you decide to do today."

Naruto wanted to object. The redhead planned on sleeping the day away and was still awake before the blonde. Storming out the door Naruto slammed it shut behind him before sending a shadow clone to the academy. Marching out to Ichiraku's Naruto sat down and ordered ten bowls of miso-pork ramen. As he ate he thought about what he should do.

Deciding to send his clones out to train in chakra control and the Rasengan, the blonde left to find somewhere to relax. It wasn't often that he just lazied about after all. After walking towards his favorite park Naruto saw someone was already under his tree. When he moved close, Naruto was shocked to see a tuft of brown hair sticking out of a grey helmet. '_I wonder what Konohamaru is doing here?_' He asked himself before sitting next to the boy.

Konohamaru was not having a great day. First Ebisu had told him to take the day off, then his grandpa had yelled at him for his assassination attempt, saying that it would reflect badly on Konoha if someone saw him, and now he was at the park and the place was deserted. He hoped that there would have been other kids to play with, but guessed most of them were in school.

Naruto moved next to Konohamaru and sat down. The brunette looked at the new arrival and scowled. "What are you doing here? There are plenty of other places to sit in the park."

Naruto smiled remembering how Konohamaru had acted the first time they met. Naruto nodded and smiled at the boy. "True, but this is the best spot in the park."

Konohamaru crossed his arms. "Why is that?" He asked. rolling his eyes to try to hide his curiosity.

Naruto pointed his hand towards the edge of the park and moved his hand around to point at the entire park. "From here you can see everything else that happens in the park. The tree also has a good source of shade, and it is elevated. Over all it is the perfect spot in the park for a ninja to relax."

Konohamaru's eyes shined at that. "Are you a ninja!?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not yet, but I will graduate in a week. Then I will be well on my way to being Hokage!"

Konohamaru scoffed at that. "Like you are going to become Hokage. I will be the next Hokage after I beat my grandpa for the title!"

Naruto closed his eyes and let out a soft hmm. "Why do you want to be Hokage?"

Konohamaru looked a little sad when he heard the question. "My name is Konohamaru. You would think that since I am named after the village that people would remember it, but all anyone ever calls me is Honorable Grandson, just because my gramps is the Sandaime. Well when I am Hokage then they will have to see me for who I am."

Naruto remembered hearing about this last time, and how it made him feel close to Konohamaru. "I know how you feel. Most people in the village act like I don't even exist. When I was your age I got so mad at them for refusing to acknowledge me. Then I promised myself that I would be Hokage to get there respect. The Sandaime was the only person who ever showed me kindness and I wanted to take that hat from him for such a selfish reason."

Konohamaru had been listening to Naruto until the last sentence. He had thought that Naruto was like him, wanting to get recognition by obtaining the title. "Selfish?"

Naruto nodded his head and pointed towards the Hokage Monument. "Do you know how the Shodaime, Nidaime, and Yondaime died?"

Konohamaru shook his head. "I know that they died fighting, and that the Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi though."

Naruto nodded. "The Shodaime died in a battle with Madara Uchiha, who wanted to destroy Konoha. The Nidaime died facing over three dozen Kumo BOLT shinobi, instead of running he turned and fought them to the death in order to give his team the chance to escape, and the Yondaime died protecting the entire village. Each generation of Hokage has put his life on the line in the village. Not because they were respected, but because they refused to allow anyone to harm this village or the people within it."

Konohamaru was staring at Naruto in awe as the blonde continued. "The Hokage isn't a job that one gets in order to be respected. The Hokage sees the entire village as family and would give their life to protect every single soul that resides within these walls. That is why I am going to train in order to become the best ninja in the village. If I can't protect this village then I have no right to that hat."

Konohamaru looked at the blonde. "Well then I guess that when I am ready to become Hokage I will have to beat you in order to get the hat. So from this moment on we are rivals."

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Well then I look forward to that fight Konohamaru, but rivals or not I think we should be willing to help each other. So maybe since you look so bored I could help you train."

Konohamaru smiled. "That would be awesome boss! What are you going to teach me first? Some super cool jutsu, like breathing fire?"

Naruto shook his head. "Before you learn jutsu you will need to work on both your chakra pools and control. The best way to do that is to train your chakra control until your chakra pools run low."

Konohamaru pouted. "But that stuff is so boring."

Naruto agreed that it was boring when the only thing you could do is the leaf sticking exercise, but he also knew how to motivate Konohamaru. "That is true, the first exercise is boring, but when you can hold five leaves on your body for half an hour I will teach you how to walk on walls." To make sure Konohamaru understood Naruto started walking up the tree. "Then when you get this down you can learn to walk on water."

Konohamaru stared wide-eyed before grabbing five leaves and putting them all on his forehead like he had been shown. Naruto smiled as three of them fell off. "Keep in mind that you will want them in different spots once you get the hang of it. That way you can get used to channeling chakra to multiple points at the same time."

Naruto stayed at the park with Konohamaru until the little boy was to tired to continue working. Lifting the smaller child onto his back Naruto started towards the Hokage's Tower. Naruto made it to the Hokage's office with little trouble as the man had finished his early meetings and was about to go get lunch. After explaining how he had met Konohamaru, Naruto was told to put him on the couch while the Sandaime sent a clone out for lunch. "Are you going to eat with us Naruto-kun?"

Naruto shook his head. "I would like to Hokage-sama, but I need to go check on my clones."

The Sandaime nodded, he had caught the blonde using shadow clones a while back, although the blonde had managed to hide the fact that he was staying at his father's house. The blonde claimed to learn it after seeing a jonin use it, but the Sandaime wasn't sure that was the case. "Well just be careful not to use to many clones."

Naruto made it to the training ground, and unknown to him the Sandaime was spying on him with the crystal ball. In the clearing there was roughly two hundred clones, some having popped when they lost concentration. one-hundred and seventy-seven were working on the last step of the Rasengan, and twenty of them were standing with one foot touching a tree and another touching water, leaves covering their arms.

Naruto nodded happy with their progress before dispelling them in groups of five. When he was done he recreated them and told them to continue working before heading towards the Namikaze Compound. Going inside he went to his bedroom, what had once been his nursery, his name on the door in wooden letters.

The Sandaime turned off his technique and looked at his preliminary team placements. "This changes things around quite a bit."

Naruto didn't do much over the next few days, although he did finish making the Rasengan in one hand. and with a little more work he could make two at the same time. He was already past the level he was at before he left with Jiraya and now that he was about to be a genin again he would take his training even more seriously. doubling or even tripling the amount of shadow clones he had working.

Getting to the academy he saw that the Sandaime was there. When everyone had arrived and taken there seat Iruka spoke. "Now I am sure you are all wondering why the Sandaime Hokage is here. The reason it that he wants to see how everyone does and how you all interact. It will help him design teams. Now we will have a written test worth five percent of your total grade, your kunai and shuriken test will be worth ten percent, the taijutsu exam will be worth twenty five, ninjutsu will be worth twenty percent, genjutsu will be worth ten, the stealth exam will be worth twenty, and the obstical course will be worth ten."

As the test was about to start the Sandaime moved over to Naruto. "I expect you to do well on this test. I know that you have been tanking your grades purposely."

Naruto eyes went wide, but steeled himself and did his best. When each of the test was over Iruka had the class gathered and announced the scores. "It seems that we have a tie for rookie of the year." That surprised no one as Kurama and Sasuke had been tied all throughout the Academy. "Perfect marks on every test have been awarded to both Naruto and Kurama. Sasuke is in second place having missed one question on the written test."

That got shocked looks from the entire class. Most people yelled that Naruto was useless and that there was no way he could be better then Sasuke until Sasuke stood up. "Shut up! Naruto is better then any of you!"

Most people were shocked to hear Sasuke stick up for anyone, the raven normally avoided talking to anyone in the class. Kurama meanwhile was glaring at them ready to kill them for insulting his mate. Akamaru was looking at the redhead and shivering.

Naruto put his hand on both of their shoulders. "It is fine, lets just hear the rest of the rankings and we can go celebrate passing with Ichiraku's."

The two boys calmed down and the Sandaime looked at them with critical eyes. '_That might work, but who would train them?_'

After hearing the rest of the ranks the three boys went to Ichiraku's while the Sandaime went to a meeting between the council and jonin. When he got there he looked everyone over before speaking up. "Are there any request for genin teams?"

Kakashi stepped up. "I would like Naruto Uzumaki for my team."

Kurenai moved up next. "I would like to have Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka as a tracking and capture team."

Asuma moved up as well. "Well I am alright with training the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. It is tradition for a Sarutobi to train the team after all. Your brother trained the last uncle trained the last one."

The Sandaime nodded. "Well Kurenai and Asuma your requests are granted. Kakashi yours is denied. Team Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Kurama, and Sasuke Uchiha under-"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 4: Genin Teams

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N: Okay to answer Thor. Kurama is a demon who has been alive for centuries. He wants Naruto come to terms with his feelings, and beg for it. Naruto for his part refuses to see it. It took Hinata admitting that she loved him for him to notice, and then he doesn't think about her over the next hundred episodes.

**ATTENTION!**

**ATTENTION!**

**ATTENTION!**

**I have put a poll up on my profile. Please vote before we get to the chunin exams.**

* * *

Naruto let out a yawn as he headed towards the Hokage Tower. He had graduated the day before and was now on his way to get his picture taken for his ninja registration. He was a little worried that with how well he did on the graduation exams that he wouldn't be placed with Kurama, but he wasn't sure what the Sandaime would have done if he had failed.

Looking down at himself he examined the cloths that Kurama had picked out for him to use. He was wearing a dark, rusty, orange short-sleeved shirt, black ANBU pants and ninja sandals, and a long-sleeved cloak that was dark red with black flames, just like his sage cloak. The outfit was finished with a black clothed forhead protector, one that had a longer then normal cloth. The cloak was special though and had special seals that would allow him to blend into his environment. The blonde was a little surprised that Kyuubi knew fuinjutsu, but apparently both his mother and Mito were masters in the art.

As Naruto thought about Kurama, he thought about how he would feel if they got put on separate teams. He hated to admit that he had grown deeply attached to the demon. Shaking his head Naruto knew that he would be sent on missions without the redhead eventually anyway. After taking the picture Naruto filed the paperwork and his ninja license was filed.

He remembered being called into the Hokage's office last time due to his picture, and shook his head. '_I suppose I should head home._' As the blonde started walking he focused on the teams. Ino-Shika-Cho would almost certainly be reformed. Kurenai could also want to keep her tracking team, although they could change the team around. Team Seven could be reformed as well, but Naruto wasn't sure where that left Kurama. It was also possible that Kurama would be paired with Kiba, as Kurama was rookie of the year, due to overall grades, and the brunette was the dead last.

Shaking his head the blonde felt that it wasn't the best time to worry about it, he would know within a few days after all. Getting back to the Namikaze Manor, Naruto checked to see if he had enough gear for the bell test. He had an extremely high amount of Kunai and Shuriken sealed within his pouch, wouldn't do if they fell out like they had in Tea Country, he had an uncountable amount of exploding tags, also sealed within his pouch, a tanto, that was sealed within his wrist, and two silver bells, stolen from Kakashi's house while the jonin was on a mission.

The bells were there so that he could act like he stole Kakashi's and replaced them with a hinged Kage Bunshin. Instead the blonde planned to have a clone switch with the bells using the replacement while the white-haired man was distracted. Still all of that would have to wait a few days.

Over the next few days the blonde started training on fuinjutsu. He had a goal in mind, one that he would accomplish before he fought Obito again. He would master the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, and maybe work on even more time-space techniques. He planned on leaving most of the sealing type stuff to Kurama though. He wanted to solely focus on one area, time space seals, like the one that sent Kurama back.

That seal was combined with a powerful ninjust to open a temporal distortion in the space-time continuum. The red kitsune then used a ninjutsu that he created to guide his consciousness to a certain part. Of course the Kiba of that time had fell in as well, and while he could show up one day, it was unlikely. The brunette could have ended up on the sun a thousand years in the past just as easily as he could have appeared at the right time.

Of course Naruto didn't think Kiba's consciousness would find a way back. Shaking those thoughts from his head the blonde moved outside and looked over his clones. He had two hundred of them working on seals right now, and another three hundred working on chakra control. He had decided to try and invent new chakra control exercises. At the moment he had them trying to form two rasengan in one hand. Then he would make them revolve around each other. Eventually he would try to add a third and have the first two orbit around the third, adding more to the orbit as his control got better. So far though the clones had only managed to blow themselves up. It got to the point that he made one clone with seventy-five percent of his chakra to sit and replace the clones.

With his clones working rather hard the blonde decided to do another form of training. Closing his eyes he focused, and after a second his form shifted until he was no longer a twelve year-old. Now he was a small blonde fox with six tails. The blonde wanted to become a sage again, but without being exposed to the special oil, he wasn't in-tune with nature's energies anymore. Being in his fox form helped in feel the chakra, and although he was a ways off, he was going to become a sage again, just maybe not a toad sage.

That thought stopped the blonde in his tracks, could he become the toad sage when he was already a fox demon? Kurama hadn't mentioned anything about it interfering with his summons, but would the blonde be able to sign a contract when he wasn't human? Deciding to ask the older demon about it later the blonde fox started focusing on the energy around him again.

The next few days would progress in a similar manor, although the blonde would manage to create two ransengan in one hand. On the day teams were assigned everyone in their class gathered together for the last time. After a few minutes Iruka came in with a clipboard in his hands. Naruto listened as the man gave the class some last minute advice, mainly about being careful and not embarrassing the village.

Then came the moment that everyone was waiting for. "Alright before I call out teams, I have an announcement. Sakura Haruno has been accepted into the medic program. She will be receiving training at the hospital and might join other genin teams on C-rank missions or above."

A few of the pink-haired girls friends congratulated her as she left. Before she walked out of the door she smiled towards Naruto, Sasuke, and Kurama. The three of them were the ones who convinced her to apply to the program after all. "Alright now then, Team One will be-"

Iruka stopped after Team Six having to take a small breath in. "Team Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Kurama as a powerhouse and demolition team." Naruto tuned the rest out. He knew that Team Eight and Ten would be the same as the six other rookies were the only ones left. He was happy though, happy that his best friend was on his team and overjoyed that he wasn't separated from Kurama.

Naruto was a little confused that he was happier about staying with Kurama then he was about being teamed with Sasuke. '_Shouldn't they rate the same? Do I like Kurama-kun more?_' Naruto asked himself, not realizing that he added the -kun suffix to Kurama's name in his head. Naruto was preparing for a long wait when a scroll appeared on his desk. Opening it the blonde realized it was something that his team should hear.

_Team Seven,_

_Meet me at Training Ground Seven in two hours. This should give you plenty of time to eat lunch._

After Naruto read the note to his team the three boys went to a dango stand that was close to the training fields. After eating they headed towards Training Ground Seven. When they got there Naruto expected to see silver hair and a blue mask. What he saw instead was a man wearing a dark blue shirt with an Uchiha Fan. The man had black spiky hair and red Sharingan eyes.

Sasuke was the first to recognize their sensei, and the only one of them who did. "Shisui! Are you our sensei?"

The man nodded and Naruto's mind brought him back to the crow that Itachi had given him in the previous time-line. The crow had carried one of Shisui's eyes and Naruto had listened as Itachi spoke fondly of the man in front of him.

Shisui for his part nodded. "Yes, I am your sensei. I think it is time for introductions. My name is Shisui Uchiha, but I have been given the name Shisui of Teleportation due to my mastery of the Body Flicker Jutsu. I like tomatoes and my best friend Itachi, I dislike green peppers, the fact that Itachi and me always tie when we spar, and traitors, and my hobbies include training with Itachi and working on different effects to use during the Body Flicker Jutsu. My dream for the future is to beat Itachi in a spar. Blondie it is your turn."

Naruto nodded. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, nature, Kurama, and Sasuke, I dislike people who can't see through their clouded eyes and how hard it is to control my chakra, and my hobbies are training with Kurama, meditating, and gardening. My dream for the future is to become Hokage and protect this village and everyone inside it."

Kurama spoke next after Shisui pointed at him. "My name is Kurama. I like destroying things and Naruto. I dislike almost everything and don't really have any hobbies. As for my dream." Kurama smirked at that before chuckling slightly. "My dream is personal."

Sasuke spoke up then. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like tomatoes and my big brother Itachi. I dislike the fangirls and how they seem to have a tracker on me." At this point Sasuke glanced around to make sure there wasn't any fangirls near. "My hobbies are training and reading, and my dream is to someday win a fight against Itachi and become clan head."

Shisui listened and nodded to them, although he noticed Kurama glancing slight to Naruto when he mentioned his dream. "Well before you get to excited about being ninja there is something I should mention. You aren't genin yet?" Sasuke was the only one shocked at that, although Naruto and Kurama played the part well. Shisui raised his eyebrow at them though. '_They are certainly good at hiding how they really feel, I would have thought they were surprised if my Sharingan was deactivated._'

Filing the information away Shisui spoke again. "Tomorrow we will have a test to see if you are ready to be genin. If you fail though, you will be sent back to the academy. We will meet back here at seven in the morning and the three of you will take your final test."

After dismissing the genin Naruto went home and picked up the bells. "I guess I won't be needing you after all. I wonder why Shisui is our sensei?"

(Elsewhere)

Shisui walked into the Hokage's office. He had wondered if the Hokage had been over thinking things when the Sandaime asked for Shisui to watch the three. Now though he understood what the old man had meant. "You are right Hokage-sama, the two boys are hiding things, but I don't think it has anything to do with the Kyuubi."

The Sandaime sighed at that. "Understood, you will be staying as their sensei though, just in case the demon tries to manipulate Naruto in the future." Shisui nodded and left allowing the Sandaime time to think. "What are you hiding Naruto-kun? You aren't being manipulated by the demon, there is now way it could influence you without using its chakra and Shisui would have noticed. Yet something hasn't been sitting right with me. I just can't place my finger on what." Letting out a tired sigh, the old man drew his pipe, he would focus more on this some other time.

**A/N: I am ending the chapter here to let people know about the poll. The next chapter will have the real test in it, as well as something special I have planned.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6: The Real Genin Test

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N:

* * *

(**This is a rated MA section, if you don't want to read it then go down to the next bold section.**)

Naruto woke to see the moon still high in the sky. For some reason he couldn't fall back asleep and decided it was time to get up, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he got out of bed, he barely noticed that his feet hit the ground sooner then he had gotten used to. Rubbing his eyes he walked towards the kitchen to get something to drink. When he got to the fridge he realized that he was taller then he should be. Glancing down he realized that he was in his seventeen year-old body. He was a little shocked, after all he couldn't really go out into Konoha like this. Everyone would think that the Kyuubi had taken over and changed his body.

A light went on in the blonde's head at that thought. Of course Kurama would know what was going on and how to fix it. Moving towards the demon's bedroom the blonde had to raise an eyebrow. The house was darker then it normally was, even at this time of night. As he made it to the redhead's room Naruto knocked on the door. "Kurama, are you awake?"

The older demon didn't answer, and Naruto walked into the room. Noticing that Kurama wasn't in his bed, the blonde set out looking for him. He checked around the house, and finally found Kurama in his room, waiting for him. "What are you-"

Naruto's question was cut short as Kurama pressed his lips into the blonde's. "Why did you get out of bed Naru? It is cold without my _mate_." The husky way the demon said mate sent a pleasurable shiver down Naruto's spine.

"What are you talking about Kurama-kun?" Naruto asked, once again not realizing the suffix -kun had slipped.

Kurama laughed at that. "Are you wanting to play a new game Naru? Well that is fine by me." As the demon said this he slipped behind the blonde and moved his head right to his ear to whisper. "_What type of game is it going to be this time? Do you want to pretend the big bad demon is taking you against your will again, and as a weak little human you can't stop me_?"

Naruto froze at that, not sure what exactly was going on. "_Don't worry my little human, I will be gentle._" The demon whispered, once again sending shivers through the blonde.

Naruto didn't snap back to reality until Kurama was lifting his shirt up. "Wait, Kurama don't do this."

Kurama laughed darkly, although there was an obvious playful tone to it. "_Just try and stop me, my little human._" Naruto couldn't help the moan that escaped form his lips when the redhead's hands started exploring his body, and those lips that were once whispering into his ear, bit down lightly on the lobe. Kurama's breath started feeling extremely hot on the blonde's skin as the elder demon released the earlobe from between his teeth. "_You always make the sweetest noises._"

Naruto was extremely confused right now. "Kurama this is wrong, we shouldn't be doing it."

The demon merely grinned. "_Then stop me._" That was the last word Kurama would speak as his mouth attached to the blonde's neck. Kurama started sucking on the blonde's neck, then he bit down, using just the right amount of pressure to make Naruto let out another moan. It was at this point that the blonde realized two things. The first was that his member was starting to harden. The other thing he noticed was that the redhead's hardened cock was pressing lighting into his cloth-covered ass.

The size of it a made the blonde shiver lightly, as Kurama's hands moved downward towards the button on the blonde ANBU pants. Naruto tried to talk when the redhead moved to the other side of his neck, repeating his actions on the first side, changing whatever words would have formed into an incoherent mess within a moan. As the blonde's pants fell to his ankles, his frog boxers being the only thing still covering his member, which was now standing completely at attention.

The older demon was a little disappointed, and Naruto could hear it in his voice when he spoke. "You normally put up more of a fight by this point." Then the demon's voice was suddenly filled with pride. "You must want to hurry along to the main event, I am that good after all."

Naruto went to speak when a hand wrapped around the head of his penis through his boxers, making the blonde moan out once more. The redhead started stroking Naruto though his boxers, and the blonde bit his lips hard as the demon's other hand moved around to squeeze his ass. As the blonde's pre-cum started making a wet spot in his boxer's a soft chuckle was heard from the demon. "We should probably remove these."

Naruto felt the redheads hands stop and move to the waistband on his boxers. As the garment started to slid down, the blonde realized he could feel the head of Kurama's member pressing into his bare-skin. He hadn't realized until this point that the demon was completely naked. As the boxers met his pants around his ankle the blonde heard a yell cut through the air.

"NARUTO WAKE UP!" The blonde shot out of bed when he heard the redheaded demon yelling through his door. Looking down he realized that he was hard, and his member was poking through his boxers.

(**It is now safe to read. It was just a taste, but I hope you guys {and girls} like it**)

It had taken a few minutes to will his friend away, but the blonde was now dressed and walking into the living room where the demon was staring at him. "You slept later then normal. Are you feeling sick, demons might not be able to get most diseases, but any that effect the chakra system can make us feel sick for a few days."

Naruto shook his head with a smile and a blush, although Kurama knew the smile was forced and the blonde was fighting the blush down. "Fine, just a dream."

The redhead shrugged. Naruto was grateful that Kurama didn't ask for the details, but as he was avoiding the demon's gaze, he missed Kurama smirking as he turned towards the door. '_Seems like Naruto had fun in my genjutsu. He doesn't even realize that I woke him up at midnight and cast it on him._'

When they got to the training ground Sasuke was already there and so was Shisui. Naruto realized that having a teacher who was on time was going to take some getting used to.

Shisui spoke up now that they were all present. "Alright, listen carefully as I explain the test. The true genin test is normally a test of teamwork. However after your display during the graduation exam, Hokage-sama feels that it won't be necessary. Therefore I devised a new test for you three. You will have three hours to find and fight me. Your target will not always be in plain view after all. You will be graded separately on your performance, but also together based on your teamwork.

With that said the man disappeared. Naruto turned towards Kurama and Sasuke. "So what is the plan? Do we have a way to track him?"

Kurama nodded. "I can sense his chakra." '_And his hatred, what little there is._' "He is in the nearest training ground to the east of here."

The three genin headed towards the training grounds while discussing how they would fight the Uchiha. They ended up deciding that attacking at the same time, with taijutsu, would be the best option.

When they found his Kurama took the lead, dashing towards the man. The redhead slammed his fist into the tree trunk, a few inches from Shisui's head, as the Uchiha had deflected the blow. Naruto attacked next, sticking to the tree with one foot and kicking out with the other. Shisui raised an eyebrow and disappeared in a flash of lightning. Appearing behind Sasuke, he was about to attack when Naruto replaced himself with the raven, taking the blow. As the blow connected though, the Naruto that was hit turned into smoke.

Shisui smiled at that. '_Naruto made clones and have them watching from the edge of the training grounds, ready to replace themselves with any of the genin I attack. I would have to speed up in order to actually attack one of them. Impressive._'

Sasuke attacked at this point, not wanting to be left out. He started with a few kunai, that Shisui simply dodged, and then he charged with a punch. Shisui went to block, only for a Naruto clone to replace with Sasuke, an exploding tag on his chest.

Shisui went wide-eyed when he realized it was a second away from detonating.

**BOOM!**

A charred log was on the ground in a small crater and Shisui was wide-eyed as the three genin charged him. Kurama lead them with a axe-kick. Shisui raised his arms to block it, and tossed the redhead into the other two, only for them to both burst into smoke. '_Two clones, and one of them under a henge._' At that moment he raised his arms, blocking a double lariat. Sasuke had attacked from the right, and Naruto from the left. Shisui was surprised, not just at the move, but at the fact that they matched their strength completely.

Shisui looked at Kurama as the other two jumped towards the redhead. "That is enough. You three obviously pass. I have to go report to the Hokage." Shisui disappeared and the three genin smiled.

Kurama moved over to Naruto, standing behind the blonde. "Naruto do you want-"

Naruto jumped away from the redhead, memories of the dream filling his mind. "I have to go, I promised Konohamaru, that I would teach him something." The blonde said as he rushed from the clearing.

Sasuke had watched the interaction with a raised eyebrow. "That was weird. Well I guess I will see you two tomorrow." The Uchiha said, he had to go tell his family that they had passed.

Kurama walked home, a cocky smirk on his face. Naruto for his part raced through Konoha with a blush on his face. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but it didn't really matter. He just needed to get somewhere quiet and think. The blonde ended up on his father's stone head on the Hokage's Monument. '_Okay I need to calm down and think. I had a dirty dream about Kurama. Do I like Kurama? I guess that makes sense. I get mad when anyone touches him, and he is amazing. He has helped me so much, and even gave me a second chance at the coming war. There is no way he would ever feel the same way though._'

The blonde sighed at that. '_Should I talk to him about it, but then what if it freaks him out. I don't even know if I like him all that much._' Of course at that moment Naruto remembered the mate comment in his dream. '_Okay I like him a lot, but I can't really act on those feelings. Maybe I should look into dating someone else, it might help get my mind off of it. Then again I can't date someone when I want someone else. That wouldn't be fair, what if I kept the person I dated from being with their soul-mate._' Naruto sighed after he thought that. "I wish I wasn't on Kurama's team." He muttered to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7: A Talk With a Kage

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

Naruto sighed as he fell backwards into his bed. D-ranks were even more annoying the second time around, but whats worse was watching a friend you are falling in love with take his shirt off to do yard-work. Naruto would almost swear Kurama knew of his feelings at times, but then the redhead would do something that made him disregard those thoughts.

Naruto counted himself lucky that Kurama hadn't entered his room in the mornings. Naruto didn't dream of the redhead every night, and even when he did he didn't always have _GOOD _dreams, but he had woken once or twice, moaning the redhead's name. The dreams hadn't moved past light stroking and striping, but they were enough to make the blonde accept that he was in love with Kurama.

Naruto remembered one where he had actually tackled Kurama when the redhead admitted he had feelings for the blonde. Letting out a tired sigh the blonde got out of bed. Maybe training in nature chakra would help him get his mind off of the subject. It was around four in the afternoon, giving the blonde a few hours to train. When he got outside, Kurama was standing there.

he was actually about to start instructing one of the clones that was working on chakra control, but seeing the real blonde he turned to him. "Naruto it is time for the next stage of your demonic training."

Naruto looked at the older demon. "What are you talking about? I thought we already covered what foxes can do."

Kurama nodded his head. "We have covered what fox demons can do. However every demon with at least three tails worth of power, as well as the Ichibi and Nibi, have special abilities. I can sense hatred, and if I chose to make someone succumb to their inner hatred. The Ichibi can control sand, the Nibi can manipulate blue fire, the Yonbi can control lava, and there are other such skills. Today we are going to see what your special ability is."

Naruto nodded, it wasn't the training he planned on doing, but it would make him stronger. "What do I do?"

Kurama looked him over for a second. "Well first you will have to transform into your half-demon or full-demon form." Naruto nodded and focused. Golden chakra started seeping from him, and the chakra traveled to his head and tailbone. Six golden tails appeared from tailbones and his ears disappeared, becoming two fox ears a little higher up on his head, although they blended in with his spiky hair. "Good, now keep in mind that you will be able to use your powers in your human form, but unlocking them required greater access to your demonic chakra."

After he finished saying that Kurama moved forward and placed a hand on the blonde's forehead. With a blast of chakra from the demon's hand, the blonde's world was spinning. "Interesting, it is rare for a demon to have more then one power."

Naruto barely registered that. "I have two?"

Kurama nodded. "Yes, although only one of them is offensive. The first of them ties into a rather unique ability that you already had. You have always been able to see the good in people, and you could almost always bring it out. One of the abilities you have allows you to literally look into the hearts of others by reading their aura. This will allow you to instantly know whether someone can be saved or not. The other ability is the powerful one though."

Naruto had finally recovered from the dizzy feeling that over took him. "What is the other one?"

Kurama looked the excited blonde over. "Your affinity with wind has skyrocket. You could most likely do A-rank just with no handsigns, and S-rank with one or two. However there is more to the ability to that. You can manipulate the air around you, keeping cool in the desert by simply cooling the air. You could do a lot with it, but the techniques that you use, will be the ones that you make. I expect you to work hard." '_His wind control is great enough he could probably fly by making a miniature tornado around his lower body._'

Naruto nodded ready to begin the training and made another hundred clones to work on the aura sensing and wind, fifty a piece. Afterwards he became a fox and started focusing on the nature chakra. For the first time he was able to start drawing on it. Kyuubi had transformed as well, mainly to lay about in the sun.

(**Meanwhile**)

Jiraiya was reporting in to the Hokage, explaining that a group of S-rank missing-nin had formed when he sensed someone drawing nature chakra in. "Sensei can I see your crystal ball?"

The Sandaime nodded, hearing the seriousness in his student's voice. "What is wrong Jiraiya-kun?"

Jiraiya didn't answer and focused on the chakra signature, using the crystal ball, a image appeared.

_A golden six-tailed fox and a reddish-orange nine-tailed fox, both about the size of a fully grown Inuzuka hound, were lying in the grass. The golden one's fur started glowing a greenish hue for a moment before he jumped for joy. "I did it Kurama, I actually drew in sage chakra." At that point a seventh tail suddenly sprouted from the blonde's tailbone. _

_Kurama was surprised, having never seen a demon get more tails then they were born with. Although the blonde was too excited to notice. "Calm down Naruto, it isn't that big of a deal."_

_Naruto shifted back to his human form and stuck his tongue out. "You're just jealous because you can't draw in sage chakra."_

_The nine-tailed fox shifted back into a human form. "I do it all the time, it is why my chakra pools never deplete. I replenish them with the chakra in the area around me, keeping my reserves full." Hearing that caused Naruto to pout, but the demon continued. "Besides drawing it in only replenished your chakra reserves. In order to be a true sage you need a contract with one of the summoning clans that can produce a True Sage. Such as the toads, slugs, and snakes. Then you have to bathe in their sacred oils, like the Toad's Sacred Oil, or the Snake's Sage Venom. The venom is actually quite painful to bathe in."_

_Naruto's head dropped. "So I am not a Sage yet." He said sadly. "Well that just means I have to train even harder and find a way to get one of those contracts. After all the Hokage has to be the strongest in the village."_

Jiraiya ended the jutsu and looked at the Sandaime. "Did we really just see that?"

The Kage nodded. "It seems that young Naruto has befriended the Kyuubi. He also allowed the demon out, and is alive. All of this is an S-rank secret. Crow, go get Naruto and Kurama." A ANBU appeared and nodded before disappearing. "Are you going to stay for the talk."

Jiraiya nodded his head. "I will be hiding with your ANBU though." the man said before disappearing.

The Sandaime nodded as Crow reappeared with both Kurama and Naruto. Crow didn't go back to his spot on the ceiling, instead he took off his mask. Itachi readied his Sharingan just in case it was needed. Kurama sensing who was all in the room, and seeing Itachi activate his eyes shook his head. "Well it took you long enough to figure out. I have only been living in Konoha for years."

The Sandaime looked at the Kyuubi with a cold expression. "So why have you been living peacefully in Konoha, Kyuubi?"

Naruto felt a clone pop, one that had learned how to view auras. Getting the memory Naruto focused a little chakra to his eyes and looked around. There was some red tinting the Sandaime's grayish aura. A similar look was shared by the rest of the ninjas. Kyuubi's aura was different though, it was the same color as his fur, and formed a nine-tailed fox around him.

Kurama finally spoke. "Why would I live peacefully anywhere. Besides we both know that I have been in Konoha since Madara left."

The Sandaime glared at the demon. "While you have lived here, you have caused nothing but problems. So again, why are you still here?"

Naruto spoke up this time. "He has been training me. He promised that if I let him out then he would help me protect Konoha and train me to be the Hokage."

The Sandaime looked at him. "And you trusted him? Naruto this is a demon that we are talking about. I mean he turned you into a fox!"

Naruto nodded his head. "There is a lot to the story you don't understand. Something that can't really be shared as you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

The Sandaime would have laughed that Naruto thought he wouldn't understand something, but the look in the boy's eyes had changed. Naruto was no longer a kid smiling at everything. No, now in the blonde's place stood a seasoned warrior, one that had lost everything. "Naruto, you need to tell me what you know."

Naruto sighed, he was worried that this would happen sooner or later. "Okay, but can you bring Inoichi in here. He can show you the truth so that you will believe me. He can take us into my mind and I can show you the memories."

The Sandaime nodded hesitantly. "Boar, go get Inoichi."

The boar masked ANBU dropped from the sky and disappeared, reappearing a moment later with the man. After explaining that they needed Inoichi to take them into Naruto's mind, everyone got ready.

When everyone, Jiraiya included was touching Inoichi, the blonde man put his hand on Naruto's forehead. In a flash of light everyone was standing in a large field. Next to them stood a giant white marble castle. Pointing towards the castle the blonde spoke. "My memories are in there."

Everyone was shocked at how the place looked, Kurama included. "This place has certainly changed." The redheaded demon spoke.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I couldn't sleep the other night and came in here. First time I have been in here since you were released, and I decided to redecorate."

Naruto lead everyone through the castle to a long hallway, longer then what should have been possible. "Alright so the memories are colored to indicate what emotion they inspired and they go from the most recent backwards."

As the group started walking Naruto saw Kurama moving towards a light red door and stopped the demon. "No need to go in there!" The blonde said quickly, a blush staining his cheeks.

Kurama raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Whatever, we should get to the memories we need to show the Hokage anyway."

Naruto nodded and lead them to his memories of his eight year-old self. "There are a lot more memories here because this is the year I came back. Just watch though because it is hard to explain what I mean." Naruto showed them the chunin exams where the Sandaime died, the start of his trip with Jiraiya, the five Kage conference, the start of the war, and then Sasuke's last betrayal. Then he showed the deal he made with Kurama, and the transformation he had to undergo in order to survive releasing the Bijuu. "Kurama can be trusted, if it wasn't for him then I wouldn't be able to stop Obito Uchiha. Kabuto will need killed before Orochimaru dies as well though."

Everyone was shocked at what the world had become. "So my little brother would have betrayed Konoha. I am glad that I didn't have to kill my clan." Itachi spoke in a sad tone.

The Sandaime nodded. "It is amazing what has changed just from one moment. You hearing of your parents saved the Uchiha clan. I suppose for the moment we can trust the Kyuubi. However we will be watching you closely. Itachi, you will be joining Team Seven as a secondary sensei."

Itachi nodded and they turned to leave. On the way back one of the ANBU, the boar masked one, got curious as to what the blonde was hiding behind the light red door. Opening it, the air was filled with a voice, Kurama's specifically. "_Why did you get out of bed Naru? It is cold without my **mate**._"

Everyone froze as Naruto slammed the door shut. His face almost as red as his mother's hair. Most of the people in the hallway were staring at the blonde wide-eyed. Kurama for his part laughed. "That was a naughty little memory. I can't quite recall it though." Naruto blushed even harder at that, but he didn't say anything. "Were you dreaming about me, hmmm _Naru?_" Kurama spoke matching the husky tone from the memory when he said Naru.

Instantly everyone was back outside and the blonde was rushing out the door embarrassed. Naruto had broken the connection with Inoichi, ejecting everyone from the mindscape. As the blonde ran out of the room, most of the adults turned to see Kurama, only to realize the redhead was gone.

Naruto rushed towards the Hokage Monument. He was so embarrassed that the boar masked ANBU had opened that door. Now Kurama was going to be mad at him and not want to spend time with him anymore. As Naruto got to the top of the monument he crashed into someone. Naruto hit the ground and looked up to see Kurama in front of him. Looking down the blonde felt tears come to his eyes. "I am sorry, please don't be mad at me."

Hearing the blonde's hurt voice, made Kurama feel a little bad. "Don't worry about it Naru. I don't mind that you had a dream about me. In fact, if you wanted to make the dream real just let me know."

Naruto was shocked when he heard that. "Do you mean-" Naruto didn't get to finish asking his question as Kurama pulled him off the ground and into a kiss. Pulling back the redhead leaned to where his lips were inches from Naruto's ear. "_If we do this though, you are **MINE.**_" Kurama growled softly. Naruto nodded and kissed the redhead again.

After a few seconds they broke apart and Kurama grabbed Naruto's hand. "Come on, we have to go talk to the Hokage. You ran off before we finished our conversation." Naruto nodded. "Why did you run off like that by the way?"

Naruto was a little surprised by the question, but should have expected it. "I thought you would be disgusted with me if you knew."

Kurama stopped walking for a second and made Naruto face him. "Why did you think that?"

Naruto looked down at the ground. "I- I don't know. I just figured that you would be." Know that he thought about it, the blonde didn't have any logical reason for his fears.

Kurama rolled his eyes at that. "Just to let you know, I have wanted to be with you since we came back. I even dropped some not so subtle hints about it."

Naruto was shocked when he heard that, the only thing he could think to do was wrap his arms around Kurama. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"

Kurama looked into the blonde's bright blue eyes. "I wanted to let you come to terms with your feelings first. After all, you have liked me ever since we came back. Otherwise you wouldn't have tried to snap at the girls that tried to get close to me." They made it back to the Hokage's office a little later, everyone waiting for them to come back. Naruto blushed at the people staring at him, and Kurama just had a cocky smirk on his face.

The group ended up talking about certain details about the future, and planning for them. When they finally left it was almost midnight and Naruto was told to be prepared for the Wave mission.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8: Wave Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

* * *

Naruto was busy running through the Forest of Death in his fox form. It had been a few months since his talk with the Hokage, and with the old man's blessing, the blonde had started training in his demon form. As he jumped over a root and landed on a small snake, he sniffed it. Cocking his head to the side he sniffed again, and he noticed that it didn't smell like the forest they were in. Suddenly the snake spoke. "**A demon fox, Orochimaru-ssssssama will want to know about you.**"

Hearing that name caused Naruto to bite down on the small snake's head, killing it. "**Orochimaru won't learn of me, and that monster will die before he gets his claws into Sasuke.**" Spitting the snake's head out of his mouth the blonde transformed back into his human form. "That snake smelled different then the rest of the forest, he must have still smelled of his summoning realm."

Leaving the forest, Naruto watched a purple-haired woman walking into it. '_She is the proctor for the second phase of the chunin exams. Anko I believe' _Heading towards Training Ground Seven, the blonde looked towards the sky. He had gotten up rather early, and the sun was just starting to rise. Making it to the training ground, Naruto saw that both Sasuke and Kurama were already there. Itachi and Shisui always showed up at seven on the dot, and wouldn't be there for another five minutes.

Kurama smirked when he saw Naruto walk into the clearing. "How was your run?"

The blonde scratched the back of his neck. "It was great." The blonde had to admit, that when the older demon told him he would enjoy running in his fox form, the redhead had been right. Turning towards his other teammate Naruto smiled. "How are you doing Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "Let me get back to you on that once we get our mission for the day."

Kurama moved to Naruto's side and slid his arm around the blonde's waist, an action that caused Sasuke to blush slightly. The raven knew the other two members of his team liked each other, and he had known since the academy, but he wasn't quite used to them displaying it yet.

Itachi and Shisui showed up together and looked the genin over. "Alright we won't be training today because we have a c-rank mission."

Sasuke smirked and Naruto took a deep breath. "Where are we going sensei?"

Itachi looked to the tense blonde. "We are escorting a bridge builder to Wave Country. We will head out in two hours from the north gate." The genin nodded and headed towards their homes to pack. As Naruto was packing he let out a sigh, things had already changed so much and now they were going to change even more. Naruto couldn't predict who would be coming after him since Itachi wasn't in the Akatsuki, and with the Uchiha Clan alive there is no telling how other nations have changed.

Sealing his supplies in his scrolls, and sealing his ninja tools into his hip pouch, the blonde stood and looked out his window. '_What if I can't change anything else? What if I already changed too much to know what is going to happen? What if the Uchiha Clan Massacre was what made the bloodline wars okay in the Mizukage's mind?_'

Naruto's mind filled with doubts and he was about to start panicking when he felt two strong arms wrap around him. Leaning back into Kurama's chest the blonde let out a long breath. "Even if it means you don't know what will happen, the point of coming back was to change things for the better. You have already done that, and when you have the chance, I know you will continue to do so."

Naruto relaxed in Kurama's hold and looked out the window again, this time with a smile. "You're right, I shouldn't worry so much. Thanks Kurama-kun, I love you."

Kurama spun the blonde in his hand before connecting their lips. The redhead took advantage when the blonde gasped at the action to ravage Naruto's mouth. When he pulled away Naruto's cheeks were red and he was dazed. "_I love you too Naruto-kun._" Kurama whispered into the blonde's ear.

Hearing those words made all of Naruto's worries melt away. "We should hurry, I want to see if I can save Zabuza, or at the very least Haku."

Kurama nodded his head. "I am behind you no matter what. After all, I have to support my mate."

Naruto's whole face turned scarlet at that, as he thought about some of the more exciting dreams he had a while back. "Y-yeah, you have to, so... umm we should... go." Kurama laughed as Naruto rushed out the door, and followed the boy to the north gate. When they got there, they saw that the three Uchiha were already waiting on them as was the bridge builder. "So should we head out right?" The blonde asked as he scratched the back of his head.

Itachi nodded his head. "Kurama, Naruto, this is our client Tazuna, he is building a bridge and hired us to guard him."

Naruto smiled at the old man. "My name is Naruto, and it is a pleasure to meet you Tazuna-san."

The man took a drink from a bottle of sake he had with him. "So I have three brats defending me. Well I suppose at least there are two adult ninja with the worthless kiddies. Anyways lets get going." The group nodded and headed out, although Sasuke's left eye was twitching.

After traveling for a little bit the group stopped to let Tazuna rest. The old man sat down with Sasuke staying at his side for protection. Itachi and Shisui kept their eyes on the road, and Naruto and Kurama moved off to the side. Kurama gently laid his hand over the blonde's as Naruto closed his eyes and thought over everything he remembered about the mission. '**_Naru, we should suggest a plan for after the demon brothers show up. If you want Zabuza to attack then we should break off into two groups to make it seem like we have less manpower._**'

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he looked towards the others. When he realized they had no idea Kurama had spoken to him, the blonde realized that Kurama had spoken from within the blonde's mind. '_Kurama, we can still talk like this? I thought the seal was what allowed this._'

The answer came quickly, as the blonde closed his eyes again. '**_I can talk to you like this as long as we connect physically. All demons can with each other, although most use a fist bump to connect their minds. Holding your hand is just a bonus. Now here is what I suggest. After we fight the demon brothers and find out the truth, we split up. Sasuke, Shisui, and Tazuna will stay behind us, at a reasonable distance. While we stay with Itachi and protect a transformed Shadow Clone. If Zabuza sees both Itachi and Shisui, he might request reinforcements._**'

Naruto nodded his head, something that all three of the Uchiha males noticed. '_That is a great plan, and Itachi knows the truth too. So we could explain that I want a chance to save Zabuza and Haku._'

Opening his eyes Naruto focused a little chakra in them to view auras around the group. Kurama's aura never changed, while Sasuke's was mainly white with a few stripes of grey. Naruto could see the innocence Sasuke possessed, as well as, the willingness to do what needs to be done. He could also see the love that Sasuke held for his family. Itachi and Shisui's auras were almost exact replicas of each other. They were almost a solid grey aura with a little blue in Itachi's and black in Shisui's. Focusing on the blue in Itachi's aura Naruto could see the man's desire for peace. Then focusing on the black in Shisui's aura, Naruto saw a memory.

(**Flashback**)

_A young Shisui stood in front of a female Uchiha. "Please don't do this mother." He said, tears in his eyes._

_The woman smiled sadly. "I am sorry dear, but I am sick. This poison will kill me but first my mind will start degrading and I will lose control of my body. I will become a prisoner in my own mind until I lose the ability to even realize I am a person. I will not become a burden on you. I need my life to end on my terms. Remember that I will always love you my little warrior" With that said the woman raised a blade into the air. Shisui activated his Sharingan and charged, ready to take the blade away. Instead the image of his mother killing herself was burned into his brain forever as he was to slow. Suddenly his eyes started burning and Shisui collapsed._

_(**Flashback end**_)

Naruto's eyes once again snapped open, and he stopped focusing chakra to them. '_Kurama, I think Shisui has the Mangekyou Sharingan. He watched his mother kill herself, I saw it while examining his aura, and felt his eyes start burning._'

It took only a few seconds before Kurama replied. '**_Interesting, most Uchiha go mad when they unlock it. I thought that Itachi was the only exception._**'

Naruto hmm'ed thoughtfully for a second drawing the attention of the Uchiha and Tazuna. '_Itachi told me that he gained his when Shisui killed himself. Maybe unlocking it only drives you mad if you kill for it. After all the guilt from killing your best friend would chip away at even the strongest minds._'

Itachi spoke up before anything else was said. "We should get going. We want to be in Wave by nightfall." As the group started walking again, Naruto saw a puddle off to the side.

Focusing chakra to his eyes he saw to pure black auras. '_These two are rotten to the core._' Stopping in the road Naruto moved off to the side, towards a tree making it seem like he needed to relieve himself. "I will catch up in a second, just have to-" The blonde stopped talking as he unsealed his tanto and slammed it hilt first into the puddle. Suddenly one figure jumped away from the blonde while another appeared, on the ground unconscious.

The man growled. "Forget the bridge builder, I will kill your for attacking my brother!" He yelled as he charged towards Naruto with his clawed gauntlet raised to strike. A growling Kurama appeared in front of him a second later. "Wha-"

The missing-nin never got to finish questing what was happening as Kurama slammed his palm into the man's ribs, breaking a rib with the force of the strike and placing a seal on the ninja that would knock the man out until it was removed. "**Seal! **Well since these two were targeting our client, what should we do with them?" Kurama asked as the second of the Demon Brothers fell to the ground.

Sasuke stared at the two mildly impressed, not having sensed the hidden ninja, while the the older two Uchiha were just happy that they identified the targets considering that the two were dealt with quickly. "I will try to get some information from them before anything else is decided. Sasuke, Shisui, why don't you two take Tazuna and head up the road a little. Naruto and Kurama can stand guard a little ways back to make sure no one comes this way." The other two Uchiha nodded before heading on with Tazuna stopping just far enough away that they would barely hear the Demon Brothers screaming. They would have moved further away, but they wanted to be close enough to call for help if it was needed.

Naruto and Kurama didn't instantly head off though, instead they shared what they new about the mission to Wave the first time around. Itachi listened to the information before Naruto told him of Kurama's plan about splitting up. "You want to split up so that Zabuza attacks?" Itachi asked with a thoughtful look on his face.

Naruto nodded his head. "I know that it sounds ridiculous, but if he sees both you and Shisui he might call for back-up. Not only that but he isn't a bad guy. He and his apprentice Haku didn't deserve to die the first time around. Zabuza was even the one who kill Gato."

Kurama chuckled there. "The fool of a midget doesn't even plan to pay them if they succeed. If we could get them to join Konoha it would booster the village strength. Zabuza is one of the Seven Swordsman and Haku carries the ice release bloodline."

Itachi sighed from the information and looked to the two unconscious figures of the Demon Brothers. "There is a patrol nearby that can be contacted with a small summons, I don't suppose either of you have a contract so I will use my crows. I agree that splitting up would also be best. Better the known enemy then the unknown one. Still I am not sure about inviting Zabuza and his apprentice to join Konoha."

As Itachi summoned a small crow, Kurama spoke up. "I can summon foxes, although I hold no contract. The fox clan simply obey me, and for their service, I don't wipe them out. None of them have more then five tails though, making their leader as strong as a boss summon, weaker then Naruto will be once he has trained enough."

Itachi tensed at the mention of how strong the blonde would become, yet from what he had learned, Naruto was loyal to Konoha above all else. Itachi wasn't sure why from some of the memories he had seen though. "Of course I shouldn't be surprised. We should go inform the others of the plan. I will tell them it was my idea after I got information from the Demon Brothers so they don't become suspicious."

When they caught up with the other three, and told them the plan, Shisui instantly agreed, but Sasuke protested. "Why should they be put in more danger then I am. Just because I am your brother doesn't mean you should keep me in the back lines."

Naruto was the one that answered. "Actually Kurama is a sensor, meaning he will be able to see the enemy coming. Then if we need to escape I can swarm the enemy with Shadow Clones to cover our escape."

Sasuke nodded his head in understanding. "I see... I didn't think of it that way."

Itachi nodded his head in understanding. "Don't worry Sasuke, you might not of been thinking about your teammates abilities in this situation, but you are still a genin. Mistakes like this are why we Jonin are around. Besides it is natural to worry when your teammates are put in dangerous situations."

Sasuke nodded and watched as Naruto looked Tazuna over carefully before making a clone that transformed into the bridge builder. The two were perfect copies of each other, although Naruto's clone stood a little straighter due to the fact that the it was sober.

Before they split up though Tazuna asked a question. "Why are you continuing this mission when I lied to you?"

Naruto smiled at the old man when he heard the question. "While we could leave you here since you lied about the mission, this is our first mission outside the village. I think I speak for Sasuke and Kurama when I say that we don't intend to fail it." Kurama and Sasuke smirked at that.

The group split up after that. Sasuke and Shisui as well as the real Tazuna waiting nearly an hour before following after the first group. Meanwhile Itachi was leading Naruto, the Clone Tazuna, and Kurama to a small section of the beach where a small boat was waiting. When the group explained their plan to keep Tazuna safe the man agreed to come back and give the second group a ride as well.

After crossing into Wave Naruto spoke once more. "Itachi, the first time around Zabuza knocked Kakashi into a pond and trapped him in a water prison. Haku stayed out of the fight until Zabuza was about to lose and rescued him under the guise of a hunter-nin. I will leave a clone and go find Haku, but if you get trapped my clone can free you like Sasuke and I did the first time."

Itachi nodded slowly. "Are you sure that you can take out Haku?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Haku's mirrors won't stand a chance against my Rasengan Barrage. Other then that it will be a match of speed and if I don't have to hold back then I am sure I will be faster." After that was said the trip was spent in quiet until Naruto threw a kunai into a bush.

Itachi had felt the chakra that was used for a substitution and grabbed the clone. "GET DOWN!"

Naruto and Kurama ducked, while Itachi pulled the clone down. Moments later a giant sword flew over their headed before embedding into a tree. As they stood up Zabuza appeared on it. "Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist." Naruto said as he saw the man.

Zabuza laughed. "Well the brat is well informed, not surprising seeing as his teacher is Itachi Uchiha. Your head will get me quite a large sum of cash, but I will let you live if you just hand over the bridge builder."

Itachi scoffed at this while Naruto activated his eyes. Focusing on Zabuza he saw a grey aura contaminated by multiple stripes of black, and one white area. Focusing on the white area first Naruto's mind was assaulted with images of Haku growing up, smiling towards Zabuza. Then Naruto focused on the biggest black area.

(**_Flashback)_**

_Zabuza growled as he slashed through several loyalist that were attacking him and a woman beside him. She formed ice senbon in her hand and threw them into some of the loyalist while a masked man stepped forward. "Why are you betraying us for this ice bitch Zabuza. She is just a monster like the rest of the bloodline users!"_

_Zabuza chuckled at that. "Well if my memories serves me correctly. I am a monster as well!" He called before cutting the man in half. When it seemed that all of the enemy ninja were dead Zabuza turned to the woman. "Now that they know about you Tsuki-chan, we need to get your sister Yukiko and her daughter Haku to safety."_

_Before the woman could reply a blast of water shot out from nowhere, one powerful enough that it ripped through her chest. Zabuza looked down at the woman in shock until a hallow voice spoke. "You were foolish to betray me Zabuza."_

_Zabuza turned towards the man enraged. "Yagura, I WILL KILL YOU!" He yelled as he lifted his sword and charged._

**_(Flashback End_**)

When the memory finished playing in the blonde's head, he saw Zabuza in a new light. He also saw that the man was creating the mist, so he decided to use a wind jutsu to clear it. "_**Shadow Clone Jutsu**_" he whispered under the cover of the mist. Then as Naruto jumped away from the battle to go see about finding Haku, his clone went through a few hand-seals. "**Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu!**"

The mist cleared and Naruto moved around the clearing until he saw Haku's snow white aura, one that had just small flecks of grey. "I see so the other chakra signature I sensed was a hunter-nin." Naruto said as the masked figure of Haku turned towards him.

"Oh one of the Konoha genin. I am surprised that you managed to find me." She said a little nervously.

Naruto smiled in an attempt to disarm her. "The redhead down there is a sensor. I thought you might be an ally of Zabuza and came to see who you were." Haku nodded in understanding and looked down to the field where Zabuza was being pushed back by Itachi. Seeing an opening to get them both out she pulled out two senbon and threw them. When she moved to go collect Zabuza though Naruto appeared in front of her. "Those needles paralyzed Zabuza, they didn't kill him. Considering you have his scent on you, the two of you have been working together."

Haku went wide-eyes and jumped back before Naruto could strike her. "I am sorry then ninja-san. I have to go get Zabuza-sama before your teacher learns that he is still alive. **Ice Release: Demonic Ice Mirrors!**" A dome of mirrors appeared around Naruto and Haku stepped inside one. Suddenly she stepped into one before appearing in all of them. "You cannot escape this technique ninja-san."

Naruto smiled sadly. "I would prefer not to fight you hunter-san. My bloodline shows me the truth about people. You are a kind, gentle soul and Zabuza isn't a bad person. This Gato that you are working for however sounds like a piece of work."

Haku pulled out several senbon. "Enough talk, the money we will get from Gato is the only thing that will keep the actual hunters from finding Zabuza-sama, and I will not allow him to be harmed."

Naruto shook his head. "So you work for Gato while desiring to protect Zabuza. Did you two know that Gato has a reputation for killing the missing-nin that he hires in order to claim their bounties once the job is done."

Haku stiffened at that. "Sorry, but I have no time to listen to your lies." With that she charged at Naruto. With his enhanced abilities from being a demon, he could not only see her coming, but match her current speed. At the moment she was traveling at high chunin speed, almost impossible for a normal genin level opponent to even track. Naruto however wasn't normal and blurred in front of her before striking her across the face, breaking her mask and sending her back into a mirror.

As he landed back on the ground he formed a yellowish blue orb of chakra in his right hand. "Now to shatter your mirrors. **RASENGAN!**" He called as he slammed the orb into a mirror, shattering it and sending her flying into a tree. Haku looked up, her shirt having a spiral cut into exposing burnt skin underneath. Naruto had made sure to keep from hurting her with his Rasengan, but flying into the tree could have caused some damage. "I don't want to hurt you or Zabuza, but my mission is to protect the bridge builder."

Tears formed in Haku's eyes at this point. "I failed Zabuza-sama. I am nothing but a broken tool now."

Naruto shook his head. "Tell me Haku, do you know why Zabuza took you in?"

The girl looked up shocked. "How did you know my name?"

Naruto smiled softly. "I told you my bloodline allowed me to read the hearts of others. What I didn't mention was that if certain memories were strong enough that they effect your to your very core, I can see the memory. Some memories are happy, and others involve death. Zabuza is like most ninja, willing to do whatever is needed, but there is a light in him. A light that has come from watching you grow up. He doesn't consider you a tool."

The girl looked into Naruto's eyes, tears in hers. "So you plan to use me against him then?" She asked as she reached for a kunai.

As she gripped the kunai, Naruto caught her hand. "Actually I was thinking of making an offer to the two of you. If Gato pays you, and that is a big if, it will only keep you safe for so long. If the two of you were to come to Konoha though, you would be safe." With that Naruto turned his back to Haku. "We will let you go, and in a week we will meet on the bridge. There you will have two options. Fight us and take a chance that Gato might pay you, or come back to Konoha with us."

With that the blonde sped away landing next to Kurama and Itachi as Haku sped to Zabuza's side before disappearing. "Are you sure that we should let them go." Itachi asked as they left.

Kurama chuckled. "Naruto has made up his mind. However if Haku and Zabuza decide to attack, we will kill them. Make no mistake that this time around, Naruto won't hesitate to kill Haku, even if he doesn't want to."

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment as the older demon spoke before nodding him. When he opened his eyes, Itachi could see a fire in them. "I will not fail this time. I will keep Konoha safe, and protecting Tazuna and wave will allow us to form a trade agreement with them."

Itachi nodded his head and the three sat down and waited for the other half of their group. When they caught up, and Itachi told them an amended story of what happened, they headed towards Tazuna's house. The man's daughter was happy to see that they were back and that her father was safe, but it seemed his grandson would take some work to become the young man he could be. Naruto knew that Kakashi had talked to him last time around, but this time it would be up to him.


End file.
